Cotto - Is It Just Me?

It's not just you. That's a pretty accurate assement on your part. For whatever reason, Cotto keeps getting a pass. I don't know how people keep saying he showed all of this heart when he stopped trying to win and resorted to running away to avoid getting knocked out. He got knocked out anyway because he's not that good at fighting going backwards.

 

He was hurt. It's a tough thing to talk about from your keyboard. He was getting beat up. Surely he was always getting overrated with the warrior tags but he does have some heart and guts. Not in a Frazier or Marciano league, but certainly he fought hard and tried. He did what was best for himself at that point but he was pretty banged up so he tried to move and counter when he could. Would you want to start bombing away when you're badly hurt/discouraged and feel you've done what you can and can't win. He felt that Pac was just better and he wasn't going to knock him out anyway. He took a a good deal of punishment and hung in there. That counts for something.

 

He knew he couldn't beat Pac from that point so he did just that to keep a clean record of not being knocked out. I do question the heart too, but what he did was, on record, it's better than quitting on his stool. At least he stayed in the ring.

 

It was either the 7th or 8th round where he started trying to box Manny, and he actually had a bit of success with it. At least, moreso than when he was trying his initial strategy.

The only round where I felt like he was really "running" was the 11th, and at that point I think survival instinct just kicked in, flat out...

I admire him for trying to finish the fight, but it was a good stoppage by Bayless.

 

:good why let youself get hurt badly if you can do something about it. the fact that he stayed that long in the fight is enough to say he has heart.

 

You're on point again. Don't expect many to agree with you. It's bizarre. I've seen plenty of fighters get crucified for running when they are clearly ahead and are looking to secure the win. Now we have people giving Cotto props for running away when he was clearly losing. He basically gave up. How is that admirable? Why should we praise that? Sure, he was hurt, but this is boxing. Getting hurt is a part of the sport. Most fighters are supposed to have someothing inside of them that keeps them fighting and trying to win even when they're hurt and/or behind in the fight. Cotto seemed like he just wanted to not get KO'd. It was very dissapointing.

 

Exactly. There are standards though. It's not quite like Frazier walking into Foreman's shots but that's exactly not that smart. Or Basilio roaring at SRR with one eye, but it takes guts to keep yourself when you can get hurt. He tried, he couldn't do too much at that point.

 

I was said to see Cotto running like a Bitcchhh! But I guess the guy wanted to loss on points and not have the TKO on his record.

 

You are right.

 

Im a Cotto fan, he's one of my faves, but he definitely ran and has been in recent fights towards the end (actually he showed this sometimes at lww too).Once he runs out of steam and knows the other guy can take his shots, he goes into full retreat mode where he potshots with the occasional left hand or jab and tries to run out the clock.

But even in retreat mode vs Pac, he still took some vicious shots to go along with the beating he took in the first 6/7 rounds, so credit there. he's definitely a tough, proud fighter....but one who knows his limitations and how much he can take.

 

This is why I think Morales is such a warrior. He probably knew he would be in deep **** against Pac in the third fight if he went toe to toe. And what did he do? He went toe to toe! Hey got beat badly but that's what you call going out on your shield!

But having said that, I can't criticize Cotto for getting on his bike after the 6th round. He was getting pretty beat up, the fact that he was still jabbing and countering Pac every once in a while still shows a lot of heart IMO. Not in the level of what Morales did, but still pretty impressive nonetheless, and Cotto deserves to get respect for that.

 

After all the **** De La Hoya gets from Ricans after he ran from Trinidad for 2.5 rounds, it's laughable that Cotto is being applauded for his "courage" when he ran. Good on him for not taking a knee like he did against Margarito, but running away isn't exactly courage. Morales showed courage, when he was hurt, he fought back even harder and got knocked out in the process. Cotto probably did the right thing for his sake, but it wasn't courageous.